The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (涼宮ハルヒの憂鬱, Suzumiya Haruhi no Yūutsu) is the name of the 2006 television anime about a girl who, unbeknownst to her, possesses the power to change reality. The story is based on the series of novels, the first of which bears the same name. The anime adaptation, directed by Tatsuya Ishihara and produced by Kyoto Animation, shares the first novel's plotline, interspersed in six self-contained episodes. Intermixed between them were seven episodes based on chapters from the second, third, fifth, and sixth novels. The ninth episode, "Someday in the Rain", was a new story written specifically for the anime by Nagaru Tanigawa, the author of the novels. The fourteen episode series premiered in Japan on April 2, 2006 and aired until July 2, 2006. Notably, these episodes were not originally broadcast in chronological order.

Soon after the show aired, Kadokawa Shoten received various offers from companies in regards to licensing the anime, manga, and novels. On December 22, 2006, the website asosbrigade.com revealed that the anime version of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya was licensed for North American distribution by Kadokawa Pictures USA, who sublicensed production and distribution to Bandai Entertainment. The first and second DVDs were released on May 29, 2007 and July 3, 2007, respectively, with the third and fourth on September 25, 2007 and November 6, 2007.